Fruit juice squeezer



Dec. 24, 1946. c. A. F-:LTMAN FRUITJICE sQuEEzER` Filed J/an. 25. 1945 CHA m55 A.FEUMAA/ INVENTOR B ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 24,?1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Fanti' JUICE sQUEEzER l charles A. reuma, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application January 25, 1945, Serial No. 574,512

(C1. 10o-41) v 6 Claims.

My invention relates to fruit squeezers and has particular reference to portab-le or hand squeezers for citrus fruit such as limes, lemons, oranges, etc.

Ordinary hand squeezers as are used for squeezing juice from limes and similar iruit, usually cut in half for this purpose, require considerable force to squeeze most of the available juice from the fruit, and becomes very tiresome if this operation is to be repeated more or less often. To overcome this diiiiculty I provide my fruit squeezer with a force-amplifying means, whereby two or more strokes are required for squeezing a piece of lime or similar fruit, the force applied to the fruit being correspondingly multiplied. This result is accomplished in my squeezer by the use of a ratchet mechanism so that each squeezing movement of the handles of the squeezer produce a fraction of the total travel of the squeezing jaws. Upon completion of the squeezing operation, the ratchet mechanism is manually released and the device is made ready for the next fruit.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the accompanying specication and drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my fruit squeezer with the cover removed and jaws in fully opened position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the cover in place and the movable jaw in a position after completion of the first complete movement of the movable handle;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fractional sectional detail view of the movable handle taken'on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

My fruit squeezer comprises a body I with a cup-shaped portion I adapted to receive a fruit to be squeezed, a jaw 2 being formed at one side of the cup-shaped portion I with teeth or corrugations 3. The cup-shaped portion may be preferably provided with a plurality of holes i for straining the juice squeezed from the fruit. A relatively stationary handle 5 extends integrally from the body I.

A movable jaw 6 is provided with a hub portion E' pivotally supported near one end of the body I on a pivot I and is also provided with teeth `3'. A cylindrical recess 3 is formed in the hub portion 6 for a spiral spring Il), one end of the spring being nele m a slot ln the hub 55 portion 6', and the other end I2 being held in a slot in the jaw 2. The spring is placed under tension so that it urges the jaw l outwards into engagement with a. shoulder i3.

The hub E' of the jaw 6 is of a circular shape and is provided with ratchet teeth IA., engaged by a pawl or dog I5, pivotally supported at I6 at the end of a movable handle I8. The latter is pivotally supported on a pivot 2G, rigidly mounted on the base I. A recess 2l is provided in the handle I8 around the pivot 2l!` for a spiral spring 22. One end 23 of the spring is bent against the handle 5, the other end 24 being tted in the handle I8 in such a manner as to urge the movable handle outwards from the stationary handle 5. A spring 25 is secured at I'I' to a lug I9 on the handle I8 and urges the pawl I5 towards the teeth I4.

A holding or locking pawl 25 is pivotally supported at 2l on the body I and is urged by a spring 23 towards the ratchet teeth Is. The spring 28 is secured at 30 to a flange or wall on the jaw 2. A hook 29 on the holding pawl 26 is provided for releasing the movable jaw from the holding pawl thereby permitting the movable jaw to be returned to its original or inoperative position.

A cover plate 32 is fastened by screws 33 to raised side walls 34, 35 of the body I, the pivots l and 20 passing through the cover.

To prevent the juice from the squeezed fruit from reaching into the ratchet mechanism, the movable jaw is provided with a semi-cylindrical portion 36, frictionally engaging an arcuate shoulder 3l on the body I. The jaw 6 has a corresponding recess for engaging the shoulder 3l. The pawl I5 is so positioned on the handle I8 that it is engaged by a pin Il secured to the body I when the handle I 8 is fully opened as shown in Fig. l, thereby releasing the pawl I5 from Ythe teeth I4. The lug I9 on the handle I8 at the same time engages the rear end 29 of lthe locking pawl 26, releasing the same from the teeth I4 as shown in Fig. l when the handle I8 is fully opened. Both pawls become released as soon asl the handle I8 is moved towards the stationary handle 5 as shown in Fig. 2, the pawls then engaging the teeth I4.

p For squeezing juice from a piece of fruit, the latter is placed on the perforated portion of the body I, and the handles 5 and I8 are squeezed together as shown in Fig. 2. The pawl I5 will then turn the jaw 6 to a position shown in Fig. 2. The handle I8 is then partly released, permitting the pawl I5 to engage the next tooth. The

jaw 6 will be prevented from moving backwards by the holding pawl 26, engaging the next tooth I4. With the next operating movement of the handle, the jaw 6 is further advanced towards the stationary jaw. The squeezing operation is completed in two or three strokes of the handle I8. The force at the jaws is thereby doubled or trebled (or increased even in a greater proportion) depending on the ratio of the length of the handle to the distance from the pivot 20 to the tooth I4 engaged by the pawl I5, in relation to the ratio of the length of the jaw to the radius of the tooth I Il. As a result, relatively light pressure on the handle is required, greatly reducing the muscular eiort needed for such an operation.

After the last stroke, when the squeezing operation is completed, the handle I8 is fully released and allowed to return to its original position, in which the pin I'I will disengage the pawl I5 from the teeth I4, and the lug I9 will disengage the locking or holding pawl 26 from the teeth I4. The movable jaw 6 will therefore snap back under pressure of the spring I into its inoperative or open position.

It is evident that my invention can be also applied to various other purposes by simply modifying the shape of the vjaws 2 and 6, making them, for instance, as punches, shears, cutters, etc.

It will be understood that various features and principles of each of the embodiments of the invention above described or referred to may be utilized or substituted in the other embodiments.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to certain particular preferred examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various changes and further modications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A fruit squeezer comprising a body; a cupshaped member on the body arranged to receive a fruit to be squeezed; a stationary jaw formed at one edge of the cup-shaped member; a xed handle extending from the body; a movable jaw pivotally supported on the body; ratchet teeth on the movable jaw; a pawl arranged to engage the ratchet teeth; a movable handle pivotally supported on the body and operatively connected with the pawl for causing the movable jaw to move towards the stationary jaw in response to the movable handle being moved towards the Xed handle; a second pawl engaging the ratchet teeth and pivotally supported on the body; yieldable means to urge the second pawl towards the ratchet teeth for preventing the backward movement of the movable jaw; and an extension on the second pawl arranged to be engaged by the movable handle for releasing the second pawl from the teeth of the ratchet.

2. A fruit squeezer comprising a body; a cupshaped member on the body arranged to receive a fruit to be squeezed; a stationary jaw formed at one edge of the cup-shaped member; a xed f handle extending from the body; a movable jaw pivotally supported on the body; ratchet teeth on the movable jaw; a pawl arranged to engage the ratchet teeth; a movable handle pivotally supported on the body and operatively connected with the pawl for causing the movable jaw t0 and yieldable means to urge the movable jaw away from the stationary jaw.

3. A fruit squeezer comprising a body; a cupshaped extension on the body for receiving a piece of a fruit; a stationary jaw at one side of the cup-shaped extension; a movable jaw cooperating with the stationary jaw and provided with a hub pivotally supported on the body; a handle extending from the body; a movable handle pivotally supported on the body; ratchet teeth on the hub; a pawl pivotally supported on the rear end of the movable handle engaging the teeth; a second pawl pivotally supported on the body engaging the teeth for preventing the movable jaw from moving outwards when the movable handle ismoved outwards; a cover removably attached to the body for enclosing the ratchet teeth and the pawls; a shoulder on the cup-shaped extension concentric with the pivot of the movable jaw, the hub having a semi-cylindrical portion substantially diametrically opposite the teeth frictionally engaging the shoulder thereby sealing the space under the cover from the cupshaped extension.

4. A squeezing appliance comprising a body; an extension on the body for receiving a work; a stationary'jaw at one side of the extension; a movable jaw cooperating with the stationary jaw and provided with a hub pivotally supported on the body; a handle extending from the body; a movable handle pivotally supported on the body; ratchet teeth on the hub; a pawl pivotally supported on the rear end of the movable handle engaging the teeth; a second pawl pivotally supported on the body engaging the teeth; yieldable means to urge the second pawl into engagement with the teeth for preventing the return movement of the movable jaw; and means on the body to release the first pawl from the teeth of the ratchet wheel when the handle is placed in its extreme outward inoperative position.

5. A squeezing appliance comprising a body; a member on the body arranged to receive a work; a stationary jaw formed at one edge of the member; a xed handle extending from the body; a movable jaw pivotally supported on the body; ratchet teeth on the movable jaw; a pawl arranged to engage the ratchet teeth; a movable handle pivotally supported on the body and operatively connected with the pawl for causing the movable jaw to move towards the stationary jaw in response to the movable handle being moved towards the xed handle; a second pawl engaging the ratchet teeth and pivotally supported on 6. A fruit squeezer compris-ing a body; a cupshaped member on the body arranged to receive a fruit to be squeezed; a jaw formed at one edge of the cup-shaped member; a handle extending from the body; a movable jaw pivotally supported on the body; ratchet teeth on the movable jaw; a pawl arranged to engage the ratchet teeth; a movable handle pivotally supported on the body and operatively connected with the pawl for causing the movable jaw to move towards the stationary jaw in response to the movable handle being moved towards the xed handle; a second 

